Chapter 26

Nami

Despite the fact that no one in the room had given any indication that they knew she was in there, hiding behind her mirage tempo, Nami was absolutely convinced that every little noise she made was going to give her away. Her heart was thumping so loudly in her chest, she was sure the Pacifistas must have noticed it by now. She tried to keep her breathing steady, although every fiber of her being wanted to stop altogether, just to make sure there wasn't another noise to be noticed. How no one had heard her sandals tapping on the tiles when she first ran into the room was anyone's guess, though she suspected Franky keeping Vegapunk's attention had a lot to do with it. Now she was hiding behind Sanji's table and had been for several minutes, though she had no idea what she was going to do.

The Straw Hat navigator had never been the bravest person in their crew, sometimes even giving Usopp a run for his money. But that old man had managed to capture her boys and like hell was Nami gonna let him get away with it! Besides, they all three still owed her money and she certainly couldn't leave till she got them free and able to pay her back. Just as soon as she figured out how she was going to manage that…

Looking over at the huge black box that loomed over her three unconscious friends, Nami wondered what they were experiencing in that dream world. Despite the scientist's proclamations about how great the three would find it, she was certain that all three of them had managed to get into trouble. At one point while she watched from the doorway, Luffy's arms had blackened, a sure sign that he was using Armament Haki. Another time, she had nearly fainted and given away her position when Luffy had used Conqueror's. Whatever was going on in that dream world, their captain was fighting and stirring up trouble for sure. No surprise there. And knowing Zoro and Sanji, they would likely be doing the same, if they hadn't already. She just had to hope none of them fought their way out before the rest of the crew could figure out a plan.

The red-head looked over at the high platform where Dr. Vegapunk himself stood. Carefully, she moved her way over to the side of Sanji's table. She had just about talked herself into a plan to sneak up the stairs to the platform, take out the old man, and gain control of the miniature snail on his wrist…

…when a Transponder Snail began ringing right next to her ear.

"Eep-!" One hand clamped over her mouth while the other kept a firm grasp on her Clima-tact, keeping her invisibility intact. Luckily the sound of the Transponder Snail continuing to ring in Sanji's pocket covered the sound of her cry. Still, Nami found herself cowering back behind Sanji's table, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart.

The Transponder Snail! She had forgotten all about it! And with almost everyone here, it was most likely Jinbei calling. That…was not good. Peering over the edge of the table, Nami tried to get a handle on the situation. Sanji seemed to give no sign that he could feel the thing in his pocket, not moving or stirring at all from his slumber. The old scientist was staring at the source of the noise and, to Nami's horror, so were the two Pacifistas. Fortunately, none of them moved over to Sanji's table or made any attempt to answer or silence the snail. But Nami had absolutely no chance of answering the thing herself.

Finally, the ringing stopped. Nami quietly sighed in relief.

And then the snail in her pocket started to ring!

Panicked, Nami yanked the thing out of her pocket, answered, and then immediately slammed the receiver down.

"Oh? Did his snail go off again?" Dr. Vegapunk commented from the platform. "Guess they didn't try as hard that time."

Distantly, Nami could hear another Transponder Snail go off and Law talking. Good. Whatever information Jinbei had, Law was probably the best one to receive it at the moment.

Glancing over Sanji's table again, she peered at the other two, still resting on their own tables with no signs of awakening. Zoro's arms blackened with Armament Haki at one point, and though his swords were nearby, they weren't close enough for the swordsman to transfer the Haki to them. Briefly, Nami wondered if the cook was getting into fights and using Haki like the other two, though she'd had no way of knowing since any Armament Haki Sanji would use would be covered by his pants and shoes.

Behind her, Nami could hear Robin talking. It took her a moment to realize she could hear a faint echo of Robin's voice from the other hallway and the navigator's eyes widened. Robin must have produced her face in both places! She could tell the archeologist was speaking in hushed tones, doubtless so Vegapunk wouldn't hear, but now that Nami was in the room, she realized how good the acoustics in it really were. She could make out nearly every word Robin was saying in the hallway behind her.

Nami listened as Robin laid out her plans to the others. So, they had to get control of that console! And get the boys to wake up at the same time! Alright, so they had the beginnings of a plan…

And then the old man (who apparently was not even Vegapunk) started mocking Robin and then turned on the Seastone lights at each door's threshold. Crap! That meant none of the Devil Fruit users could help Nami at this point. Further, he was typing something into that console of his. According to what he'd told Robin, one of the guys was going to try to escape from the simulation. But who?

Sanji

"My prince-!"

"Your Highness, what can we-?"

Sanji ignored every servant clamoring for his attention and stalked through the halls of the main castle of the Germa Kingdom. He was sick of this. For crying out loud, he was a chef, dammit, not a prince! His job was to cook and serve others, not to have them wait on him! For that matter, the damned mosshead was a swordsman, not a freakin' homebody! And Luffy being a Marine…that was just unnatural. It was time to get out of this place. And he knew just the person who could tell him how.

Slamming open the double doors to the main throne room, Sanji braced himself for a confrontation with Judge. Instead, he only saw his mother, who looked up at him in surprise.

"Sanji! You're back!" Sora declared with a smile. "How was your trip? I've been so worried…" Her voice began to trail off as she noticed the look looming over her son's face. "Sanji, what's wrong?"

"Everything!" Sanji snapped and then immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt look on his mother's face. "I'm sorry, Mom. I shouldn't take this out on you."

"Sweetie, what's so wrong?" his mother asked, walking up to him and placing a gentle hand on his cheek. Sanji reached up and held her hand in his. This looked like her, sounded like her, hell, it even smelled like her. But it's not real. It's just an illusion, Sanji harshly reminded himself. Gently but firmly, he lowered her hand.

"Mom, I have something to tell you," he said quietly. Illusion or not, in his youth his mother had always been the person he felt he could talk to about anything. Even in this world, he knew that hadn't changed. "But I'm not sure you'll believe me."

"Let me be the judge of that," Sora replied. "But know that I'll always listen." Sanji took a deep breath.

"Mom, I…I don't think anything here is real."

"What?" Sora looked ready to laugh, then saw he was serious. "Sanji, what are you talking about?"

"Mom, when you were pregnant with me and my brothers, did Jud…did Dad try to make you have a surgery to give us enhancements? Like Reiju's?" Sanji asked. Sora went pale.

"How…how on earth do you know about that?"

"Because I'm from a world where he succeeded."

Sora collapsed to her knees. Sanji kneeled down and caught her shoulders.

"Mom? Are you alri-?" Sora held up a hand to quiet him.

"He tried. He insisted. It would have made you four incredibly strong. But it would have taken away your emotions. Your empathy. Your humanity. It was too much." She almost whispered. "I barely talked him out of it. And I don't think he's ever truly forgiven me for it. We decided never to tell you boys." She looked up at her third son, her hand coming up and stroking his hair. "But…you have your emotions…"

"You ensured I did," Sanji answered with a sad smile.

And so Sanji told her everything. About the world he came from. About his father and brothers. About the surgery to give him and his brothers their enhancements. How she took a drug to counteract it at the risk of her own life. About her death. How Judge had him declared dead and imprisoned. How Reiju helped him escape. About the Orbit. Zeff. The Baratie. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. His dream to find the All Blue. About their raid on Vegapunk's facility. About the weird lab with the strange machine they found. How Vegapunk trapped him, Luffy, and Zoro and they woke up in this world. And the word printed on the doors of that lab they had entered…

"Project Ambience," Sora finished for him, her voice nearly a whisper.

"You've heard of it?" Sanji asked, honestly surprised. His mother slowly nodded her head.

"Back when your father, Vegapunk, and some other scientists were working together, Vegapunk had described it to me. It was some grandiose vision he had, to create a machine where anyone could live out their days perfectly content in a fantasy world. It sounded impossible. I never imagined he would ever actually build it." Sora explained, her hand covering her mouth and tears filling her eyes.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Don't you understand what this means? For me?" Sora asked, her voice breaking. "For my family? For the Sanji I know in my mind?"

And then Sanji realized. He could have kicked himself for being such a dumbass. Not only had he just told his mother that she, her family, and the world as she knew it weren't real, but he had just given her irrefutable evidence that he wasn't lying. No matter that this woman was just an illusion, she was clearly very advanced and designed to act like his mother would have given the situation. And her own son had just laid a heavy existential crisis at her feet.

And no matter what, Sanji could never stand to see a woman cry. Especially not his own mother. And especially when he was the cause.

"Mom, please, I-"

"Just leave!" Sora said sharply, never looking up at him. She continued, more gently, "Please. I…I need to think about this. Please leave, Sanji."

Slowly, the chef turned and started walking away, his hands in his pockets. When he reached the door, he turned back, but his mother was looking down, her expression hidden by her hair. Knowing there was nothing more he could do here, Sanji let out a deep sigh and left the room, walking aimlessly down the hall.

For a moment, he debated going through with his original plan, demanding answers from Judge, but decided against it. His mother had just confirmed his hypothesis; there was no reason to complicate things by dragging his asshole of a father into the picture. A new plan began to form in his mind.

Observation Haki appeared to be the answer on how to escape from here. Sanji was most likely still in that lab with Zoro and Luffy, the 'Central Processing Unit' merely feeding this simulation into their minds; he just needed to convince his brain of that reality. And once he was out, most likely the simulation would simply continue within the confines of the machine; after all, his family had memories of him from before he woke up here. It made sense that whatever 'Sanji' had existed in this world previously would simply retake his place once he, the actual Sanji, left. And that would certainly make his mother much happier.

His plan decided, Sanji headed for his room in the side castle he had been using, figuring it would be best to do this somewhere private. It didn't take him long to find his way around in his old childhood home. A couple of servants stood outside his door.

"Oh! Prince Sanji!" one of them called, coming to attention. "Is there anything you care to-?"

"No, thank you," Sanji interrupted, "I'm going to sleep. Just make sure I'm not disturbed."

"Of course, Your High-" Sanji closed the door before the man could finish his statement. The room was dark, except for the pale moonlight that slipped in through the glass door that led to the balcony. It was enough that he could easily find his way around. Perfect. The dark, quiet ambience of the room would make concentrating easier.

Sanji walked to the glass door, staring out at the moonlit ocean. It was still strange to think this was all an illusion, that none of it was real. And soon, he would be gone from it, awakening with his crewmates in Vegapunk's lab. Closing his eyes, Sanji took a deep breath and focused his Observation Haki. Once again, he sensed none of the castle's inhabitants. He could sense Luffy and Zoro near him, but both of their auras felt "fuzzy" to him still. But next to him, clear as day, so close he could almost reach out his hand and touch her, was…

"Nami-san."

Nami

"Nami…san…" Sanji's voice was soft and quiet, like he was talking in his sleep. Still, it nearly made Nami jump out of her skin. Remaining invisible, she peered over the table at her unconscious crewmate.

And saw, to her horror, that Sanji was stirring. Like he was trying to wake up. He couldn't move much in his bonds, just bend his knees a little and turn his head and shoulders a bit, but it was enough.

"N-Nami…san…" he repeated, raising his head a bit before it dropped back down to the table.

"Sanji-kun! No!" Nami screamed, dropping her invisibility and rushing on top of Sanji's table, placing her hands on his shoulders. She ignored everyone's stares and the sounds of the old man typing frantically behind her. "Don't!"

"Oh, don't think you're escaping yet, Vinsmoke Sanji!" she heard the old man crow behind her as he typed.

"Sanji-kun! Please!" she cried, gripping her crewmate's shoulders as he continued to stir.

Sanji

"—ji-kun! –ease!-" Nami's voice sounded so far away, like he was hearing it at the end of a long tunnel. Sanji smirked.

"Don't worry, Nami-san! I'll be there soon!" he declared, determined. He closed his eyes again…

And blinked them rapidly as the lights in the room suddenly turned on.

"What the hell?" he muttered, shielding his eyes with a hand. Was this the lab? No, he was still in his room in the castle.

"So this place isn't good enough for you, is it?" That voice. Sanji's heart felt like it had frozen in his chest. There was no mistaking that voice. Slowly Sanji turned around and found himself face-to-face with…

"There you are, my little ingrate of a son," Vinsmoke Judge said. He was just as Sanji remembered him: dressed in his Raid Suit, looking down at Sanji from behind his cold armored mask. Flanking him on either side were Sanji's siblings, his brothers still sporting their blond hair.

"Now, Father, it appears Sanji's just having a hard time adjusting to us like this," Ichiji said, his voice progressively turning from the warm and caring brother Sanji had gotten to know in this world to the cold harsh monster he was oh-too-familiar with in his.

"Yeah, maybe he'd have an easier time if we were more like…" Niji continued the thought.

"…how he remembers us?" Yonji finished. Both of their voices had lost their passion and humor, turned instead to the violent emotionless timbres Sanji remembered. He watched with growing apprehension, as all four of his siblings, Reiju included, took out their Raid Suit canisters and transformed, the boys' hair transforming into the bright colors Sanji knew so well. His breathing turned rapid and he was certain he was trembling as all five Vinsmokes stared at him, violence promised in their expressions.

"After we even became the family you wanted so badly. I'm insulted," Judge declared. "But we can't have you leaving us, Sanji. You have a wedding to go to soon, after all." Sanji felt himself shudder at those words, despite his attempt to stop it.

"Niji. Yonji. Grab him," Ichiji ordered. Before Sanji had time to react, his blue and green-clad brothers rushed forward and grabbed his arms in their tight, vice-like grips. Sanji struggled, but it was no use; the two had their powerful exoskeletons back. Sanji could feel them, even through his long sleeves.

"You want to go back to your world, little brother?" Ichiji asked, stepping forward, while cracking his knuckles. "Maybe we should make things a little more familiar to you, eh?"

Sanji struggled again in his brothers' grips, but it was still no good. As usual, Reiju just watched from their father's side. He cried out, "Ichiji, don't!"

"This is for your own good, Sanji," Ichiji stated coldly as his fist slammed into Sanji's face. As his head turned harshly to the side, Sanji tried to ignore the taste of blood on his tongue and desperately focused his Observation Haki. Nami! He had to focus on…

"Oh, no you don't!" Ichiji declared and Sanji felt another fist slam his head the other way.

Nami-san! He had to focus all his Haki on…

Nami

"Nami-san!" Sanji's voice sounded strained and Nami watched as his head turned harshly to one side and then the other, blood spattering from his mouth. Her head snapped towards the old man, still typing at his console.

"What are you doing to him?!" she demanded.

"Keeping him in the simulation!" the old man roared.

From the hallway, Nami could hear Law state in wonderment, "Black Leg-ya's receiving physical injuries. Their bodies are that in tuned to the simulation?"

"How is that possible?!" Chopper cried out.

"The body is simply following what the mind tells it," the old man answered. "Same thing that'll happen to their minds if the world there suddenly ends because your friend is trying to leave it!"

Nami bit her lip as she looked down at Sanji. It was clear he was trying desperately to leave the dream world and wake up. And clearly he was being hurt and in danger if he stayed. But if he woke up then…Zoro…Luffy… Tears formed in Nami's eyes as she gripped his shoulders.

"Sanji-kun! I'm sorry! You can't wake up! Not yet!" Nami cried. "Please, Sanji-kun!"

For a brief moment his eyes met hers and she could tell, even with the glasses covering them that he was looking right at her…

"Na…mi…" And then his head snapped to the side and more blood poured from his mouth as his eyes shut.

Sanji

He could see her! His precious Nami-swan! Oh, but she looked so sad! Nami-san should never look sad. He needed to reassure her. Let her know it was going to be okay. His eyes met hers.

"Na-mi-" And then with a crash Ichiji's fist brought him back to that dream world. Sanji tried to concentrate his Haki again, but it was so hard. The multiple hits to the head were making him woozy and doing hell on his ability to concentrate.

"I think he's trying again." Yonji's voice, he realized belatedly.

"Better hit him again." Niji that time. Suddenly his scalp felt like it was on fire as someone grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked it up. His vision was blurry, but he was able to make out the cold face with the bright red hair and glasses in front of him. Ichiji.

"Last chance, Sanji," his oldest brother demanded, giving his head a painful shake. "Give up."

In response, Sanji spat in Ichiji's face. It was mostly blood, bright red on Ichiji's cheek. He wiped it away with a gloved hand.

"Say goodnight, Sanji," Ichiji stated coldly, letting go of the blond's hair and grabbing his collar. The red-head pulled back his fist. "Because you are never going to wake-!"

The oldest Vinsmoke brother was interrupted by the sound of both doors slamming open and Sora's voice calling out, "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING TO YOUR BROTHER?!"

It seemed to Sanji that Ichiji shook just then and as he did, his hair changed from red back to blond, the Raid Suit disappearing. On either arm, Sanji could still feel Niji and Yonji's grips but they were far softer now, done with normal human hands, no exoskeletons.

"Sanji?" He could see confusion and horror in Ichiji's face as his older brother released his collar and gently cupped his face. "Oh no! What have I done?"

On either side of him, Sanji felt Niji and Yonji release his arms and place gentle hands on him, trying to guide him to the bed to sit. The entire time, they kept asking him if he was alright, concern lacing their voices. Shit, what had happened? His vision was still blurry, but hell, even Judge looked shaken by the whole thing.

"Sanji, I'm so sorry!" Ichiji apologized, "I don't know what came over-!"

"Ichiji, everyone." Sora's voice was commanding. Sanji couldn't remember her ever sounding like that before. "Please leave."

"But, what-?" Judge tried to ask. Sora merely held up a hand to silence him.

"Judge, let me deal with this," she said very firmly. "Everyone leave. I will talk to Sanji. Alone."

Worried looks on all their faces, everyone followed the Vinsmoke matriarch's command. Sanji never thought he'd feel pity for Ichiji of all people, but the man looked so contrite and guilty that Sanji finally shooed him away with a little wave.

"I'll be fine, Ichiji," he assured his older brother. "It wasn't your fault."

Finally, they all left, leaving just him and Sora in the room.

"So, I'm sure you have a lot of questions…" Sora began.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sanji replied, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. "But let's start with the first one: who the hell are you and how are you controlling my mother's… 'image' like that?"

And then an odd smirk came upon Sora Vinsmoke's face, one Sanji had never seen before.

"Very clever, Black Leg," she said. The voice was certainly his mother's, but the tone definitely was not. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Vegapunk."

Author's Notes: Another Vegapunk twist!

-I'll admit this twist was another that I didn't plan on in the beginning. In fact I played around a lot with what the avatars in Ambience were going to be: legitimately copies of people from the real world, still copies but secretly trying to lure/keep the three trapped within the simulation, or avatars that were secretly being controlled by Vegapunk or his assistant the whole time. I ultimately went a little bit with all three. Kuina stays Kuina, Ace and Sabo turn against Luffy somewhat when he starts talking about being King of the Pirates, and Sora was almost just going to have been Vegapunk's avatar the whole time (I love Sora too much though and couldn't do that to her).

-I apologize for the amount of summarizations that went on in this chapter (Nami rewitnessing events from the last several chapters, but from her POV, and Sanji summing up his life story for Sora.) But I knew this chapter was going to be lengthy as it was and didn't want to retread too much on what readers already knew.

-Before I started writing this, beyond the basic scenarios and plot, there were three scenes I pretty much had planned out in my head: Luffy and Sanji meeting up, Zoro finding Usopp, and Sanji's family turning back into their evil selves right in front of him. (Despite the violence I put him through, Sanji's my favorite character, I swear!) I later got the idea of having him try to break out of the simulation using Observation Haki, but wasn't sure how to implement it. I eventually went with the split perspectives for this chapter, swapping between Nami and Sanji rapidly. One character's overjoyed he's escaping; the other's horrified because it'll kill the other two. I think it worked out fairly well.

-The Transponder Snail ringing in Sanji's pocket in this chapter is the reason he felt that strange sensation against his leg when he found Jinbei in Ambience. Coincidentally, it was Jinbei calling him. This chapter also showed Jinbei's three attempts at calling the others from Nami's perspective—first Sanji, then Usopp's (which, you'll remember, Law gave to Nami), and finally Law, who actually answered.